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An Act To Update Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management Laws
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 37-B MRSA §264, sub-§3, ¶K, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 167, §1, is amended to read:
 
K. The Bath Armory, or any portion thereof, located on Lincoln Street, Bath, by means of a quitclaim deed as long as the purchaser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the State from all claims, including any environmental clean-up costs that may arise in connection with the land or the buildings constituting the armory;
Sec. 2. 37-B MRSA §264, sub-§3, ¶N, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 167, §1, is amended to read:
 
N. The Presque Isle Armory located on North Main Street, Presque Isle, by means of a quitclaim deed as long as the purchaser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the State from all claims, including any environmental clean-up costs that may arise in connection with the land or the buildings constituting the armory; and
Sec. 3. 37-B MRSA §264, sub-§3, ¶O, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 167, §1, is amended to read:
 
O. The Caribou Armory, also known as the "Solman Armory," located on York Street, Caribou, by means of a quitclaim deed as long as the purchaser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the State from all claims, including any environmental clean-up costs that may arise in connection with the land or the buildings constituting the armory.;
Sec. 4.  37-B MRSA §264, sub-§3, ¶P  is enacted to read:
 
P.  The Fort Kent Armory, located on Armory Road, Fort Kent, by means of a quitclaim deed as long as the purchaser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the State from all claims, including any environmental clean-up costs that may arise in connection with the land or the buildings constituting the armory; and
Sec. 5.  37-B MRSA §264, sub-§3, ¶Q  is enacted to read:
 
Q.  The Gardiner Armory, located on Brunswick Avenue, Gardiner, by means of a quitclaim deed as long as the purchaser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the State from all claims, including any environmental clean-up costs that may arise in connection with the land or the buildings constituting the armory.
Sec. 6.  37-B MRSA §264, sub-§5  is enacted to read:
 
5.  Special provisions for the Portland Armory.   Notwithstanding subsection 1, the Adjutant General may execute a like-kind exchange of the Portland Armory, or any portion thereof, located on Stevens Avenue, Portland, for real property of substantially equal value, subject to the provisions of subsection 3, paragraph L.
Sec. 7.  37-B MRSA §460  is enacted to read:
§ 460. Behavior that is prejudicial to good order and discipline of military forces or that discredits military forces
Any person subject to this Code who behaves in a manner that is prejudicial to the good order and discipline of the military forces or that discredits the military forces must be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Sec. 8. 37-B MRSA §503, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2001, c. 662, §61, is further amended to read:
 
1. Employment of personnel. The director may employ, subject to approval of the appointing authority and the Civil Service Law, the personnel necessary to administer this chapter. The director may employ a directorsuperintendent of the cemetery system, a veteran claims specialist and veteran advocatesservice officers. The director and other employees referred to in this subsection must be veterans as defined by 38 United States Code, Section 101 (2) who were separated with an honorable discharge.
Sec. 9. 37-B MRSA §504, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2001, c. 662, §63, is further amended to read:
 
2. Superintendent of the cemetery system. The director, with approval of the appointing authority, shall appoint a competent and trustworthy directorsuperintendent of the cemetery system and shall arrange for personnel, material and equipment necessary for adequate maintenance of the cemeteries.
Sec. 10.  37-B MRSA §505, sub-§2, ¶H  is enacted to read:
 
H.  A school that provides tuition assistance pursuant to this subsection shall provide any information, such as enrollment verification, current contact information, semester grade point average, accumulated credit hours and transcripts, to the bureau as necessary for the bureau to properly administer the educational benefits described in this subsection in accordance with current laws.
Sec. 11. 37-B MRSA §508, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 662, §71, is amended to read:
§ 508.Veteran service officers
Veteran advocatesservice officers shall serve, assist and advocate for all veterans. A veteran advocateservice officer must be trained and conversant on the issues, benefits and definitions affecting all veterans, including atomic, Vietnam, Desert Storm and female veterans.
Sec. 12.  37-B MRSA §536  is enacted to read:
§ 536. Case Review Team
There is created within the commission the Case Review Team, referred to in this section as "the team."
 
1.  Composition of Case Review Team.   The team consists of the chair of the commission and, as determined by the chair of the commission, may consist of any current or advisory members of the commission, as described in section 532, subsections 1 and 2, depending upon the nature and requirements of each case review. If the team includes advisory members of the commission, those members serve as nonvoting members of the team.
 
2.  Meetings; officers.   The team shall meet at such time or times as may be reasonably necessary to carry out its duties, as the team determines, and it shall meet at the call of the chair of the commission.
 
3.  Powers and duties.   The team shall examine cases involving Maine National Guard noncombat death and disability associated with military service in the Maine National Guard. The purpose of the examinations must be consistent with the provisions of this chapter. In addition, the team shall assist specific individual Maine National Guard service members as necessary.
 
4.  Confidentiality.   For the purposes of Title 1, section 402, proceedings and records of the team are confidential and are not subject to disclosure under any state law, subpoena, discovery or introduction into evidence in a civil or criminal action and must be sealed. The chair of the commission shall disclose statistical information and conclusions of the team upon request but may not disclose the materials that are otherwise confidential.
Sec. 13. 37-B MRSA §601, as amended by PL 2007, c. 167, §9, is further amended to read:
§ 601.Home established; purpose
There must be public homes for veterans in Maine known as "Maine Veterans' Homes." In addition to the existing 120-bed home located in Augusta, a 120-bed home located in Scarborough, a home not to exceed 40 beds located in Caribou, a home located in Bangor not to exceed 120 beds, of which 40 beds are dedicated to senile dementia patients, and a home located in South Paris not to exceed 90 beds, of which 30 beds are dedicated to senile dementia patients, may be constructed if federal Veterans' Administration funds are available to meet part of the costs of each facility for construction or operation. In addition, a home located in Machias not to exceed 60 beds may be constructed if federal Veterans' Administration funds or funds from any other state, federal or private source are available to meet part of the costs of the facility for construction or operation, except that the Machias home may not begin operation prior to July 1, 1995 and the construction and funding of the Machias home may not in any way jeopardize the construction, funding or financial viability of any other home. The Maine Veterans' Homes also are authorized to provide nonnursing facility care and services to Maine veterans if approved by appropriate state and federal authorities. The Board of Trustees of the Maine Veterans' Homes shall plan and develop the Machias home and any nonnursing facility care and services using any funds available for that purpose, except for the Augusta facility's funded depreciation account. The Maine Veterans' Homes are authorized to construct community-based outpatient clinics for Maine veterans in cooperation with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and may construct and operate veterans hospice facilities, veterans housing facilities and other facilities authorized by the Board of Trustees of the Maine Veterans' Homes, using available funds. Any funds loaned to the Maine Veterans' Homes for operating purposes from the funded depreciation accounts of the Maine Veterans' Homes must be reimbursed from any funds received by the Maine Veterans' Homes and available for that purpose. The primary purpose of the Maine Veterans' Homes is to provide support and care for honorably discharged veterans who served on active duty in the United States Armed Forces or who served in the Reserves of the United States Armed Forces on active duty for other than training purposes or are entitled to retired pay under 10 United States Code, Chapter 1223 regardless of the age of such persons.
 
Effective September 12, 2009